AMIT SINGLA Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this petition, petitioner has prayed for following substantive relief:-

(2.) Brief facts necessary for adjudication of the petition are that the Executive Engineer, National Highway Division, HPPWD, Rampur Bushehr, vide award letter dtd. 9/2/2018 had awarded, to the petitioner, the work of widening to two lanes with/without Geometrical Improvement in Km. 322/0 to 329/0 of NH-22 (New NH-05) in the State of Himachal Pradesh. Petitioner is Contractor by profession.

(3.) An FIR bearing No. 22, dtd. 1/4/2019, was registered at Police Station Bhawanagar, District Kinnaur, H.P. at 7.40 P.M., at the instance of one Inder Dass. It was recorded in the FIR that on 1/4/2019, complainant Inder Dass was on his way from Bhawanagar to Nichar in his personal car. He reached near place Latuksha at about 3.00 P.M and had to stop his vehicle as the widening work of the road by Amit Singla Company was in progress and many persons with their vehicles were waiting for road to open. A poclain machine was at work to clear the road for traffic. In the meanwhile, a person named Ved Prakash alighted from Vehicle No. HP-41A-0007, which was parked adjacent to the vehicle of the complainant, and after waiting for some time, Ved Prakash went towards poclain machine on the pretext that he would evaluate the situation. Ved Prakash reached near poclain machine. Dust was in the air and when the dust settled, it was noticed that operator of poclain machine was lifting Ved Prakash, who had fallen on ground and had received injury on stomach. Ved Prakash had become unconscious due to grievous injury. Ramesh Kumar, who was another occupant of the car from which Ved Prakash had alighted also came on spot. Ved Prakash was taken to Bhawanagar Hospital. It was alleged that the accident had taken place due to negligence of the operator of poclain machine and the Supervisor of Amit Singla company.